Abstract
Several kinds of nanomaterials have been versatile due to their usefulness, and their application will expand in the future. Therefore, we can be exposed to nanomaterials. However, nanomaterials may have unexpected biological effects due to their small size. Thus, the collection of safety information on nanomaterials is needed. In this regard, the effects of chemicals on the male parents and next generation have been attracting attention recently. Here, we selected silver nanoparticles, one of the most common nanomaterials, as a model nanomaterial to evaluate effects on reproductive tissue and feeding behavior. ICR male mice were orally treated with silver nanoparticles with 10 nm in diameter (nAg10) for two consecutive weeks. During experiment, there was no significant changes of body weight and food intake in nAg10-treated group compared to control group. After the last treatment, silver in blood and testis was analyzed by ICP-MS, and we found that silver was significantly elevated in the group treated with high concentrations of nAg10 compared to the control group. Moreover, the male mice were mated with normal female mice, and the number, weight, and height of offspring were evaluated. As a result, there was no significant differences between the groups. These results suggest that nAg10 can be absorbed intestinally and distributed to the testes, and that nAg10 may have no effect on pregnancy outcome under this administration condition. In the future, we will examine the effects of long-term treatment with nAg10 on pregnancy outcome.
